Hide-working machine.



No. 766,073. PATENTED JULY 26, 1904.

J. STRAITON.

HIDE WORKING MACHINE.

APPLIUAIION FILED SEPT. 5. 1902. N0 MODEL.

Patented July 26, 1904.

PATENT OEEICE.

JOHN STRAITON, OF LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND.

HIDE-WORKING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 766,0 73, dated July26, 1904.

Application filed September 5,1902. Serial No. 122,245. (No model.)

To a, whmn it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN STRAITON, a subject of the King of GreatBritain, residing at Liverpool, in the county of Lancaster, England,have invented new and useful Improvements in Hideorking Machines, ofwhich the following is a specification, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a central longitudinalsection of a machine embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a plan of thesame. Fig. 3 is a detail section of the pressing-rollers, and Fig. 4 isa detail section of the water-supply brush.

The invention relates to machines in which the skins or hides to becleaned or otherwise treated are passed backward and forward in contactwith a rotating drum provided with heaters, scrapers, or knives; and theobject is to construct such machines that the skins may be held longerin contact with the heaters and in a more effective manner with butlittle hindrance to the passage of the skins or liability to jamming or,doubling, that water may be more effectively supplied near the roots ofthe wool or hair on the skins, and that such machines may be used eitherfor cleaning or unhairing, as desired.

Referring to the drawings, 2 represents traversing-rollers, and 3represents a pair of nipping or feeding rollers, the shafts of all ofwhich are journaled in hearings on the main framework 4. These rollers 2and 3 are of the usual kind provided with ordinary reversible gear, sothat a skin may be fed forward or drawn backward over a drum 5, providedwith the usual heaters or knives 6 and secured to and rotating with ashaft 7, journaled in bearings 8 on the framework. The skin 9 is fedwith its hair side downward over the drum, the circumference of which itfollows for some distance, as shown, thereby being exposed to the actionof the heaters for a longer time thanwhen the skin is fed under the drumas hitherto, when it touches the heaters at only one point.

10 is a belt passing round a pulley 11, secured to the shaft 7 forrotating the drum.

12 is a circular brush fixed on a shaft 13 and caused to revolve by beltor other gear close to the heaters, so as to detach the free end of theskin and prevent it catching and wrapping the skin round the drum. Whenthe weight of the skin is not sufficient to keep it against the heaterswith the necessary pressure, I use one or more series of short rollers14, each roller of a series being carried in a recess 15, formed in oneend of a narrow board 16. The recesses 15 may be formed in a plateattached to the boards 16, near one end thereof. A number of thesenarrow boards and rollers are arranged side by side, with the rollers ofa series in line axially. The other ends of the board are pivoted on arod 17 secured to the frame 4, so that the boards can be pressed bysprings 18 toward the drum, so that the rollers 14 press the skinagainst the heaters. The pressure of the springs, of which there is onefor each board, may be varied by moving the bar .19, against which theyabut, in any usual wayfor example, by set-screws 19. The rollers 14revolveas the skin passes between them and the drum thus allowing theskin to pass freely without friction or liability to double up where itisbeing .acted on by the heaters. Several series of rollers may be used,and the different series may be arranged close together; but I preferwhen two series only are used to arrange them a little distance apart,as shown, and I insert between them in a groove 20 in each board 16 orotherwise attach a piece of rubber or like yielding material 21, thusforming a bolster parallel to the rollers 14, thenip on the skin betweenthe drum and the last series of rollers insuring the drawing of the skinover the holster 21 without liability of jamming. The rollers 14 andtheir supports may also he used in connection with ordinary machines inwhich the skin is passed at the inner side or underneath the drum.

22 is a circular brush or raiser secured on a shaft 23, journaled inbearings 24 and arranged to bear against the hair side of the skin. 25is a pulley secured on the shaft 23,

and 26 27 are a straight and crossed belt, respectively, either of whichmay by any wellknown means he moved onto the pulley 25, so that themotion of the brush 22 may be first in the same direction as the drum 5until the skin is nipped between the drum and the rollers 1 f, themotion of the brush 22 being then reversed, so as to raise up the hairon the skin and allow jets of water to pass freely to the roots of thehair and Wash out all dirt therefrom. I prefer to make the shaft 23hollow and with perforations 28 therein, through which the washing-watermay be forced from a pipe 29, as by this means such water will bebrought more certainly to the roots of the hair.

The brush is preferably constructed with metal plates 22, alternatingwith bristles 22". To insure more eificient action of the beaters orknives when the machine is being used for unhairing skins, 1 cause thedrum 5 to have a reciprocating motion longitudinally of its axis. Thismay be accomplished by an oblique grooved cam 30, secured on the shaft7. The groove 31 engages with a pin 32, fixed to a bracket 33, securedtothe frame 4, so that as the cam revolves with the shaft such shaft andthe drum reciprocate a short distance, thus rubbing the hair sidewiseand insuring its removal from the skin. Instead. of a cam 30 any otherconvenient gear operated from a moving part of the machine or gear maybe used for reciprocating the drum at a suitable speed.

I claim 1. A hide-working machine comprising a drum havingbeater-knives, and a series of rollers arranged in. line axially, withthe ends abutting against each other, a series of movable boards havingrecesses containing the rollers, and springs arranged to press theboards toward the beater-knives; substantially as described.

2. A hide-working machine comprising a drum having beater-knives,several series of rollers, each series being arranged in line axially,with the ends abutting against each other, a series of movable boardshaving recesses for the rollers, and springs arranged to press theboards toward the beater-knives; substantially as described.

3. In combination with a skin cleaning or unhairing machine, a drumhaving beaterknives, two series of rollers each series being arranged inline axially and disposed in recesses in a series of movable boards, andpieces of yielding material attached to the movable boards between theseries of rollers, said movable boards being adapted to allow of therollers and yielding material being pressed toward the beater-knives ofthe machine, as described.

4. A machine for treating skins comprising a drum having beater-knives,feed-rolls for feeding the skins, a circular brush bearing against thehair side on the same side as the beater-drum, reversible gear arrangedto revolve the brush in either direction, and a perforated water-supplypipe; substantially as described.

5. A machine for treating skins comprising a drum having beater-knives,feed-rolls for feeding the skins, a circular brush arranged to. revolveagainst the hair side, the shaft of the brush being hollow andperforated, a water-supply pipe connected to the hollow shaft, andreversible gear arranged to revolve the brush in either direction;substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN STRAITON. Witnesses:

W. B. JOHNSON, E. OWEN.

